Bears All-Quarter Century Team: Special Teams

USA Today

12 hours ago

Twenty-five years of Chicago Bears football are in the books since the turn of the century. Since the calendar turned over to 2000, the Bears have seen some success, but also plenty of woeful stretches. Early on, Chicago became a defensive force, claiming four division titles and reaching only their second Super Bowl in franchise history from 2000 to 2010. Since then, however, a 14-year playoff victory drought that is still ongoing and a one-sided fight with their rival Green Bay Packers have taken the spotlight.
For all the ups and downs the Bears have seen, however, they had plenty of talent over the years across offense and defense. Multiple former Bears players are already in the Hall of Fame, while many more provided years of incredible play in the navy and orange.
Here at Bears Wire, we're celebrating the best Bears players at each position over the last 25 years. We've reached the end of our list with special teams, led by the greatest returner the NFL has ever seen.
Punt returner: Devin Hester
The greatest return specialist in NFL history spent the majority of his career in a Chicago Bears uniform. There will never be another player quite like Devin Hester, an electric returner who burst onto the scene immediately during his rookie year. Hester was a game changer from the start, having the ability to find the end zone the second the football dropped into his hands.
Hester has set multiple NFL records, most notably having the most punt return touchdowns in NFL history and the most return touchdowns in total in NFL history. But even when he didn't touch the ball, he was impacting the game. Teams would surrender 20+ yards of field position just to ensure Hester couldn't be a threat to score. His greatest return of all came on the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI, a feat that will likely never happen again.
While Hester was an excellent kick returner, he was most special fielding punts. A four-time Pro Bowl player, three-time First-Team All-Pro, and a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team for both the 2000s and 2010s, Hester redefined the return specialist position. His legacy is forever enshrined at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Honorable mention: Tarik Cohen
Kick returner: Cordarrelle Patterson
Outside of Hester, the Bears have had a few dynamic kick returners throughout the 21st century. Jerry Azumah had a stellar season in 2003 with two touchdowns, while Danieal Manning led the league in average yards per return in 2008 with 29.7. For two seasons, though, Cordarrelle Patterson was a consistent threat coming out of the end zone and had a unique blend of size and speed that was difficult to stop.
The Bears signed Patterson as a free agent in 2019 to be a gadget player as well as a return specialist. While he wasn't particularly effective on offense, Patterson gave the Bears excellent field position as a returner—even when he would opt to return a kick while nine yards deep in the end zone. In two seasons, Patterson averaged over 29 yards per return and had two scores. In 2020, his 35 returns, 1,017 return yards, and longest return of 104 yards were all league highs.
In both seasons as a Bear, Patterson made the Pro Bowl and was named First-Team All-Pro at the position. He was named to the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team and holds the NFL record for most kick return touchdowns in a career.
Honorable mention: Jerry Azumah
Kicker: Robbie Gould
Who knew that when the Bears signed Robbie Gould off a construction site nearly 20 years ago, he would become the greatest kicker in team history? Gould joined the Bears midway through the 2005 season and proved to be a reliable kicker right away. His best season came in 2006, when he nailed 26 consecutive field goals and was named First-Team All-Pro. He went eight seasons in a row of converting at least 83% of his field goals, a feat that's not easily achieved.
Gould's best attribute, however, was his ability to hit clutch field goals when the pressure was at its highest. He sent the Bears to the NFC Championship Game during the 2006 season with a 49-yard kick in overtime and made numerous game-winning kicks throughout his career. While he technically isn't the most accurate kicker in Bears history anymore (Cairo Santos holds that title), Robbie was "good as Gould" for a decade in Chicago—a rarity for NFL kickers.
Honorable mention: Cairo Santos
Punter: Pat O'Donnell
It feels dirty going against a fan favorite like Brad Maynard, who was solid during his years in Chicago, but Pat O'Donnell was the better punter. The Bears made a polarizing selection when they spent a sixth-round draft pick on O'Donnell in 2014, but he showed he was worth the value. O'Donnell had a big leg, earning the nickname "Megapunt" during his first training camp. He averaged more than 45 yards per punt and did a good job of keeping the ball out of the end zone.
O'Donnell's magnum opus came in 2015 when he totaled 10 punts in a shutout loss to the Seattle Seahawks and averaged 47.7 yards per attempt. He's had multiple kicks of 72 yards or more during his Bears career and had a touchback percentage of just 6.9%. O'Donnell never made any Pro Bowls, but he was a solid special teams player in the 2010s.
Honorable mention: Brad Maynard
Long snapper: Patrick Mannelly
Long snappers are often underappreciated, but Bears fans absolutely loved Patrick Mannelly during his playing days—and for good reason. Mannelly, who holds the record for most games ever played in a Bears uniform, made long snapping an art form. He was automatic when it came to punts and field goal attempts but also did the dirty work like making tackles on special teams. Mannelly was an important team leader, as he was voted the special teams captain for six years straight.
Honorable mention: Patrick Scales
Bears All-Quarter Century Team